Still no settlement in charges against New Waterford brothersStill no settlement in charges against New Waterford brothers

February 1, 2013

LISBON - Two New Waterford brothers allegedly involved in some Halloween night antics appeared with their attorneys before Judge Mark Frost in Columbiana County Municipal Court Thursday with no resolution to the charges.

Tyler Conkle, 22, and Alex Conkle, 18, both of Macklin Road, are each accused of assault, arson and two counts of criminal damaging.

The brothers are accused of throwing a flare from their vehicle, which reportedly struck the Shear Perfection Beauty Salon, which caught the leaves near the building on fire.

Additionally, they are accused of shooting a BB gun toward the mobile home of Eric Elliott, narrowly missing Elliott's head with one shot. When he went outside to confront them, the brothers reportedly continued to shoot, eventually shattering a window in the bedroom where Elliott's 2-year-old daughter was in bed.

Finally, the pair are accused of being responsible for two soda bottle bombs thrown at Elliott's home.

Alex Conkle faces additional charges of drug paraphernalia and prohibitions from a previous incident. The drug paraphernalia charge reportedly stems from marijuana pipes, rolling papers and empty K-spice containers in his vehicle, while the prohibitions charge is for two unopened beers.

While Tyler Conkle and his attorney Douglas King indicated he was ready to reach a plea agreement on the charges, Alex Conkle and his attorney Jennifer Gorby were not. Assistant County Prosecutor Don Humphrey Jr. said he will be making essentially the same offer on the related charges to the two brothers, noting there would not be a better offer given later if one brother pleads.

A pretrial was set for Feb. 14 for Tyler Conkle, who King indicated was ready to put the charges behind him. The next pretrial will not be until April 2 for Alex Conkle with a jury trial to follow on April 17 on the drug paraphernalia and prohibitions charges, should no resolution be reached.

Humphrey said prior to the next hearing he needs to contact the owner of Shear Perfection Beauty Salon to determine if there was any damage requiring restitution. Elliott appeared at the hearing and the offer being made by the prosecutor was already discussed with him.